


Hell's Kitchen

by 3levetoi



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Community: merlinxarthur, Drunken Kissing, Enemies to Lovers, I am not good at tags, M/M, Merthur - Freeform, Modern Era, Porn With Plot, Smut, chef!Arthur, surprisingly follows canon tropes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:27:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26727436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3levetoi/pseuds/3levetoi
Summary: Arthur Pendragon is the head chef at his father’s five-star restaurant. He doesn’t have time for a relationship even if he wanted one. Plus, all his friends are his coworkers and fear him as his father’s eyes and ears. He’s not the most popular kind of guy.But he doesn’t need to be when an insubordinate new waiter starts and doesn’t seem to care for authority. Especially when the guy swipes a bottle of wine from the restaurant bar and proposes a drink to power a late night of work.Needless to say, not much work takes place after that.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 189





	Hell's Kitchen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gimmekensei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gimmekensei/gifts).



> Hello yes ! I've been secretly working on this one for my buddy because we are watching Kitchen Nightmares so naturally, I;m like, "what the hell, This could be gay!" I was trying to make it less emotional and more dirty than usual because I think that's what she's into, but honestly idk if that really worked out
> 
> Let me know what you think !

It was half-way through the dinner rush. Everyone in the kitchen was quickly dancing around each other to send the food out in a timely manner. There was hardly any room for conversation, although seeing as though this was a five-star restaurant, there was little room for conversation even during periods when the work was lighter. Anyone who tried to observe might have described the kitchen as “pure chaos,” but the chefs and workers, despite their outward frantic appearance, were all very calm and focussed on their work in their minds.

Chefs would pull an order off the stock, get to work, putting in care from start to finish, then set the plates on the rack for servers to retrieve and take to the customers. It really was a good system. It didn’t require a lot of communication, nor did it account for much error between front of house and back. 

No,  _ Pendragon _ ran like a well oiled machine, turning out gastronomical delights at every turn. It was the kind of place found in travel guide books. If people could afford it, they wouldn’t miss it. 

It helped that management ruled like a tyrannical monarch with all-seeing eyes. To be truthful, everyone feared Uther Pendragon. He was a hard man who laughed little (safe, of course, when he was with customers) and humbly named his gourmet restaurant after himself. He was unafraid to let someone go for the littlest error, which may seem harsh, but he had a business to uphold. He didn’t need unruly help to misguide the reputation of his life’s work. 

His son, Arthur, was just as hard working. Life as a dedicated head-chef was no easy feat. He oftentimes found himself entering the restaurant at nine in the morning and not leaving until close to that very same time at night. Arthur was the very heart of the place. Without him, _ Pendragon _ would have closed ages ago. Afterall, Uther was getting older, soon someone would need to take over the stock work and business side too.

Arthur was collected, always. He never hesitated for the next step, and his brow furrowed when he was really deep into the creation of his work. He likely wouldn’t notice if a plane crashed into the dinning room until he was finished with the task at hand.

Tonight was no different. Orders flew in and flew out in the blink of an eye. The contrast of energy always amazed the servers when flitting between the cool tones of the dining room, sprinkled with soft jazz in the background to the bustling lawlessness of the kitchen. It was totally divided, those who sat and ate would never know. 

Uther wasn’t there tonight, he’d taken the night off seeing as though Wednesday nights weren’t the busiest (despite being at near full capacity). This made for a little less anxiety among the staff, even though it was usually Arthur who made suggestions of termination, seeing as though he was the one actually working on site with those his father hired. But people liked Arthur enough, to not resort to immediate panic upon coming face to face with him. He was capable of joking around when he wasn’t intensely considering his work.

When things started to slow down around nine o’clock, the talk began for the first time all day. 

“I heard there’s a new server started last week,” Gwaine said casually while he rolled dough in preparation for tomorrow. It wasn’t unusual for the kitchen staff to be unaware of front-of-house employees. Again, the two areas worked in tandem, but hardly really together. 

“Is that news?” Arthur smirked, “We get new ones every week it seems.”

“Yeah, well this one started Thursday and apparently half the waitresses are already in love with him.” 

“Has he dropped anything yet?” Elyan asks from the sink.

“I don’t know but if he’s half as lovely as they say he is, I might fall in love with him myself.” 

Percy snorted, “I’ll give him a month before this job eats him alive.”

“I’ll give Lover Boy two weeks,” said Elyan. 

“Arthur? Care to wager?” 

Arthur thought for a second. “I feel as though it’s unfair for me of all people to predict his termination, seeing as though I’ll probably be the one to fire him… but a week.”

The guys laughed.

“Maybe two, tops.” 

  
  
  
  


The boys in the kitchen had a few more orders before it was time to close up for the night. There was enough kitchen staff on hand for Arthur to do minimal cleaning in the evening, he often took off after things started to slow. It didn’t phase him considering he came in earlier than most others to prep for the day ahead. 

He caught Morgana before he left for home. She was counting down the register.

“I heard we have a new boy. How’s he been doing?” 

Morgana didn’t look up, “Quite fine, actually. He seems to have a way with the customers.” She worked as the head of the dining room. She was the one who oversaw the waiters doing their work, made up the schedules, checked in on diners, etc. etc. If anyone knew anything about the workers, it was her.

“And the staff, apparently.” Arthur poked. 

“Yes, well. He’s quite charming. I don’t see him leaving anytime soon.”

There was a brief silence. 

Arthur nodded. “Right, I’m heading home. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Arthur.” 

  
  


He left without another word. The city was strange at night. Walking through the streets felt like walking through a dream, not in the sense of that it was just so beautiful that it was moving, but more like lights passing by and the sounds felt almost surreal. There were very few people out this late in the middle of the week, and those who were could be heard laughing drunkenly from blocks away. 

It was a cool night, and smog filled the sky allowing only the streetlamps to shine as stars in the distance.

His apartment was only a few metro stops away, it wasn’t by any means a long journey, and for that, he was thankful. Once he pushed the door open to his handsome flat, he sighed and threw his wallet and keys on the counter. 

If Arthur had laid down at that moment, he would’ve been out cold the second his head touched the pillow, but instead he got dressed to go to his complex’s gym. 

It was past eleven and he was bone tired, but there was no other time that worked for his schedule, and staying fit felt like the only thing he could control. 

Surprisingly, after he’d showered and gotten ready for sleep, sleep didn’t come. His muscles ached and his body was exhausted, but his mind ran circles, not stopping on any one thought long enough. 

Sometimes he hated his job. Sometimes he wished he’d never gone through culinary school. When he was six, he casually mentioned to his father that he wanted to be a chef when he grew up and naturally Uther was ecstatic seeing as though that fit perfectly into his own dream of owning a top-tier restaurant, so he happily funded Arthur’s education. He never bothered to ask him in the twenty years since if that remained his life goal.

Either way, he’d achieved it. He perfected a menu that Gordon Ramsey would’ve been proud of. He was rapidly attaining wealth, (which he didn’t mind so much,) but the price was long hours spent across his youth while everyone else was out partying and celebrating. 

Sometimes he mused as to what he could’ve been. Maybe a writer, or an athlete. But then his thoughts always turned back to _ it doesn’t matter, this is what I’ve chosen, and this is what I have _ .

Plus, when he saved enough, he could retire young and do something he actually had a passion for...The only problem is that he had no idea what he cared about. He’d been on this path for so long and it took up so much of his time that he didn’t really have any hobbies or anything.

_ Maybe I could travel, _ he thought. 

As a map of the world turned in his head, he found himself drifting off into a dreamless sleep. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


Weeks passed this way. Get up at seven. Eat. Go for a run. Shower. Work. Come home. Go to the gym. Shower. Sleep. Repeat. 

It was all the same. Only little quips from his coworkers made any sort of impact on the never-ending loop he put himself through. He sometimes found himself laughing along with them which made all of the difference. Somewhat recently he’d found himself chatting with some of the staff as well. 

Guinevere didn’t work everyday, but when she did she usually came in around ten as well to roll the cutlery and prepare the dining room. She was a waitress so Arthur didn’t see her much, but lately they struck up conversation as they started for the day.  She was sweet and easy to laugh with, if not a little awkward at times, but that made her all the more endearing. Arthur found himself smiling around her. He suspected that Morgana was aware of their newly struck up friendship, because she placed Gwen on the schedule more and more often. 

Although Arthur was indeed very focussed on his occupation, he was no beginner when it came to women. He was very popular with the ladies in high school and even a bit in college. It helped that he was attractive or so that’s what people told him at least. There was nothing he wouldn’t try if it meant he could distract himself from this over-looming expectation of his father. 

Arthur had grown up since then. He didn’t have the time for a real relationship and he didn’t know when he would. There were a thousand reasons to put that aside for now, but at this moment, the main one is that he didn’t have the energy. 

That night the whole restaurant pledged to stay late so that they could close faster and go out for drinks. This surprised Arthur, but he wasn’t opposed so long as the speed cleaning was up to standards… and of course it was because the price of a round of beer was nothing compared to a paycheck. And whatsmore, tomorrow was Monday, the only day of the week that  _ Pendragon _ was closed.

Everything was done a quarter before ten, and they had a whole evening ahead of them. They settled on walking to the bar down the street. Naturally, the wait-staff walked with the wait-staff and the cooks walked with the cooks. They stuck to those they were chummy with, but as soon as everyone got a few drinks in them, it was like they were all old friends. 

They joked about anything they could get their hands on. It started with everyone introducing themselves, because frankly, most of them had never met. After they had a good laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation, talk turned to more serious things like the shade of the tiling in the bathrooms or the special of the day. 

It seemed as though work was the main topic of this evening, seeing as though it’s the only thing that brought them all together, aside from the fact that none of them had personal lives. 

Some of the waitresses really were pretty. Arthur felt out of his depth, having not had a date or even flirted,  _ really _ flirted, with someone in more than a year.

It was also the first time he got a good look at the new boy.  _ Merlin _ his name was. Arthur could point him out immediately as the one Gwaine and Morgana were talking about. The  _ charming _ one. Well, Arthur could see nothing charming about him. In fact, he was starting to look quite plain. Arthur must’ve been missing something, however, because the girls were hanging off of his every word. The Kid seemed very comfortable meeting new people, especially women. 

Gwaine apparently also had no problem meeting other people, because before he knew it, he had his arm around Merlin in a playful-buddy kind of way.

At some point Merlin asked Gwaine what the worst thing he’d done at the restaurant was. Gwaine shot a knowing glance to Arthur who jokingly covered his ears so he wouldn’t have to report it to his father, but he probably wouldn’t do that anyways. Probably. But he did await the answer very patiently.

“Well, sweet boy, there was one night when, you know, I hadn’t gotten off in a while…”

“I don’t like where this is going.” Arthur said sternly, but with a smile.

“Oh but you will!” Gwaine laughed, “And I sauntered into the dining room, to clear some dishes, because it was busy, and we would run out if some didn’t get cleaned. As I did so, I saw this woman, a real stunner, at the next table. So naturally, I go to say ‘hi.’”

“Naturally,” Merlin echoed, being facetious. 

“And she was with her husband or some man, the details are hazy… anyways, I asked her how her food tasted. Well, I don’t want to brag, but she looked me up and down, smiled, and said ‘oh, it’s  _ delicious _ .’”

Arthur rolled his eyes.

“I took the dishes to the kitchen, cleaned them and whatnot, then excused myself to go to the restroom, and as I enter the dining room, she’s there, her eyes on me. So I give her a wink and a little -” Gwaine motioned with his head as though silently ushering someone in a certain direction, “and she followed me to the bathroom.”    
  


Some of the crowd erupted in laughter, some in shock.

“You didn’t!” Gwen gasped, trying to hide a smile.

“I did,” Gwaine shrugged.

“Oh my god, that’s dreadful!” Mithian howled, “I’m the one that has to clean those bathrooms!”

  
  


The gang had another drink, and told horror stories of past work experiences until the conversation ran dry.

“You know, it really is frightening that none of you thought of doing this sooner,” Gwaine smiled, “I think it’s important to get to know the man working next to you, it’s a shame that that doesn’t happen more effortlessly.”

“Really is,” Leon agreed.

“Right, well maybe if management weren’t so tight-assed, it would be a better work environment. I mean honestly, they treat us like dogs.” Merlin said. 

The gang stopped talking and kind of looked at eachother.

“Excuse me?” Arthur spat. 

  
  


“What?” Merlin asked with a nervous laugh, confused as to why everyone was looking at him. 

“Arthur, he didn’t know. He was just trying to be funny,” Gwen stepped in between them. Arthur was disappointed in her. She  _ knew _ what this meant to him. 

“That is interesting, because I don’t see anyone laughing,” Arthur squared his shoulders and looked directly at Merlin. He’d worked too hard, and put too much time into his job for some brainless kid to stumble in and insult it and his family. “If you have a problem with management, you have a problem with me.” 

Merlin sat bewildered, “Mate, I don’t know who you are.” 

“I’m Arthur Pendragon.”

  
  
  


______________

  
  
  


The next few days were tense. He didn’t want to see Merlin. He didn’t want to see anyone. It was clear now, more than ever that you can’t be friends with your coworkers when you’re in charge of them in the workplace. And it was clear to his coworkers as well. 

People were avoiding Arthur, but he didn’t mind. He was already lonely, it just got a little lonelier. 

Gwaine tried to pull a joke a few times and once make small talk, just to ease the tension, and Arthur tried to respond in a casual, light-hearted way, but oftentimes it just came off as cold. Gwen didn’t approach him either, likely out of fear that she would misspeak as well. As timid as she was in most situations, she could be incredibly brave when she needed to be. 

“Are you alright, Art?” Lance spoke up one day during lunch prep. They were alone in the kitchen and he wouldn’t consider them friends, in fact, he didn’t think they’d spoken much deeper than surface level conversation.

“Please don’t call me that,” He sighed. 

“My bad…” 

And that was the end of that conversation. Arthur inwardly cursed himself for sounding cruel. He wanted to soothe it, but he had nothing else to say. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound rude,” Arthur swallowed his pride.

“It’s no problem… I know that night at the bar was tense. it couldn’t have been easy for you.”

“It’s just that… you know, he’s put his life into this place, my dad, and I know he can be tough but he’s just trying to make this work… and it’s been tough on him too.”

“I hear you. It was insensitive of Merlin to say, whether he knew who you were or not.”

“Yeah, maybe it was. Thank you for saying something.” And he meant it.

Lance gave him a polite smile and went about his work.

Arthur appreciated the support but he let the conversation drop. One thing that he enjoyed about his job was that he could put all of his anguish into it. It was therapeutic. If he came into work with a problem, he likely would have it sorted out by the time he clocked out. 

Although, Tuesday nights, the beginning of the week for the  _ Pendragon _ crew. It was also stock night, where Arthur goes through the refrigerator, and takes account of everything they might need to order for next week. This actually took a fair amount of planning considering the specials change daily. It also required him to wait until everything was put away for the day, making his night even longer.

Usually, he just told everyone to go home after the basic cleaning process was done, so that he could have everything laid out in a way that worked for him. Someone might have called him a control freak, but he was the only one who could do the work, so it might as well be on his own terms. Plus his coworkers were too happy to go home to question him.

Arthur went into the dining room to check the bar. He didn’t expect to see anyone else in the restaurant but instead he (literally) ran into the new kid mopping the floor. 

“Jesus Christ!” Arthur jumped, and then his face fell when he discovered who it was.

Merlin turned around, wide eyed. It was clear that now, Merlin knew  _ exactly _ who he was. 

“Holy shit, I am so sorry.” He started. 

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Merlin was still looking a bit stunned, “Uh, Morgana had somewhere to be so I offered to finish up.”

“I’m going to do inventory so go home when you’re done,” Arthur grumbled. 

Arthur started to walk away when Merlin caught him by the arm, “Wait!” Arthur turned around to face him, probably had a disgusted look on his face. 

_ There’s nothing that could possibly warrant talking to this man. _

“Hey, I wanted to say that I’m sorry for what I said last Sunday. It was rude and even if you weren’t my boss, it was unnecessary and negative.

Arthur waved it off, “Don’t worry about it.” 

“I’m not worried about it because if you were going to sack me, I’d already be sacked, but I just want you to know what I said was shitty and I’m sorry.” 

Arthur pressed his lips into a thin line, “Thank you for apologizing… most people wouldn’t.”

“Anytime.” 

They stood there waiting for the other to say something for a moment. Merlin wasn’t as repulsive as Arthur initially thought. Somewhere in there might’ve been a good guy, maybe they just got off on the wrong foot. 

“Between all of us, we should have probably been able to find something to talk about that isn’t work.”

“That is very true.”

Merlin looked at him, “Can I buy you a drink sometime so we can find something else to talk about?” 

Arthur eyed him for a second. He supposed he could use a night out seeing as though everyone else he knew was awkwardly avoiding conversing with him. And he seemed serious about the offer so, what’s the harm right? 

“Yeah, okay,” Arthur smiled. “I would like that.” 

  
  
  
  


______________

  
  
  


Merlin had proposed a few nights over the course of the next week, but the only one Arthur could agree to in good conscience was Sunday night, seeing as though Monday was his only day off. 

After a brief moment of stunned confusion after Arthur explained this to him, Merlin closed his mouth.

“Jesus, you work here everyday, staying till…” he checked his watch, “ _ eleven?! _ ”

“Well I usually don’t stay this late. Tuesdays are different because it’s stock night, I can usually get out about now…” He looked directly at Merlin, “If there aren’t any distractions.”

He was kidding, of course, but seeing as though he was the boss, and he had a particularly dry sense of humor and no wide range of displayed emotion on his face, it would be easy for one to get confused. 

But Merlin just cracked a smile, “Right, I’ll let you get back to it.” 

Arthur turned to count the alcohol behind the bar and then retreated into the walk-in refrigerator so that he could account for all the food. After about twenty minutes, Merlin came and stood in the doorway.

“I’m all done.”

“Alright, have a good night,” Arthur said, not turning away from his work. 

“Can I help with anything else? How much longer do you have tonight?”

Arthur looked at him, vaguely confused that he didn’t just want to go home. _ If this was some sort of masterplan to kiss ass, he’s overachieving,  _ Arthur thought.

“Do you really want to help or are you just trying to get on my good side?”

Merlin shrugged, “I haven’t got anything better to do. And I’ve only been here since five, you’ve been here far longer.”

“Uh… yeah..." Arthur didn't know what to say. If he genuinely wanted to help what's the harm? "I guess you could help me count the stock.” 

The two stood in the small room and counted various food products in close proximity. It was wildly romantic if you’re into awkward silence and staring at vegetables in the lonely company of someone else who was doing the exact same thing.

They finished in record time. Arthur couldn’t think of anything else that required immediate attention, but he asked if Merlin wanted to help him roll cutlery anyways, because he wasn’t very tired and he didn’t feel like going home to his empty apartment just yet.

Merlin, of course, said that he would help on the condition that Arthur mark off a bottle of red wine. Then Merlin pulled out his wallet and two twenty dollar bills he’d made in tips a bit earlier and offered it to Arthur.

Arthur snorted, “Put your wallet away.” 

“No, I said I’d buy you a drink.” 

“You can buy me a  _ single _ drink next week, not a whole bottle of wine. Plus, I know what you make and it’s not all that impressive.” 

Merlin gawked at the insult, feigning anger but ultimately smiling. 

“Go pick a bottle,” Arthur ordered.

Merlin left to do as he was told, and Arthur just shook his head at himself. This was incredibly out of character and highly inappropriate, but Arthur did it all the same. He’d been working himself into the ground and now an interesting night offered itself on a silver platter and Arthur wasn’t about to turn it down. After all, his father couldn’t fire him. He wouldn’t be able to find someone that worked as hard and as much as his own son. (Granted, he did so  _ because _ he worked for his father, but that’s beside the point.) 

He returned with a bottle of red and the two made themselves comfortable in the managers’ office behind the kitchen. They could’ve pulled down two chairs and sat in the dining room, but someone had just taken the time to clean it. Arthur cleared a space at the main desk for them to work as an assembly line and share the bottle. He didn’t bother getting glasses for them, because he would have to clean them after and it was easier to take it straight. 

They sat down and started working. Arthur folded the cloth around the silverware and then handed it to Merlin who tied it with a little ribbon. Before too long, the bottle was mostly empty.

“My father’s going to kill me,” Arthur sighed.

“I thought we weren’t going to talk about work.”

Arthur felt Merlin looking at him. 

“And I thought we would go out to drink.”

“Well now you don’t have to next week.”

“No, we’re still going next week,” Arthur said, more forcefully than he intended. “I know I can be a monster, but you’re not getting out of that one so easily.” He tried to lighten it with a joke, but it only came out as sad. Maybe he was starting to feel this wine...

Merlin gazed intently at Arthur, but was not met with recognition so he continued working “You really aren’t though...” Merlin paused for a second to consider his words. “I mean, maybe you come off a little strong, but that doesn’t warrant being avoided.”

Arthur didn’t speak.

“Maybe it’s that you never get away from this place... When was the last time you took a day off?” 

“I get Mondays off…”

Merlin stopped, “We  _ all _ get Mondays off.” 

There was a pause.

Merlin stood up swiftly. 

“That’s it,” He said, leaving the room. He came back with a bottle of Tequila and a shit-eating grin. “You’re going to take tomorrow off and in the meantime we’re going to get absolutely plastered.” 

Arthur raised his eyebrows, “Is that what’s going to happen?”

Merlin nodded enthusiastically, his dark curls bouncing around his face. Arthur wondered if he ever brushed his hair or if he just looked in the mirror, saw that chaotic mop, and said to himself, 'yup, looks great.'  Not that it didn’t look great - but it did look… effortless. But then again, from what Arthur knew about him so far, was that everything he did was effortless.

Merlin started to uncap the bottle, when Arthur piped up, “You know, I am technically your boss, so telling me ‘what’s going to happen,’ really isn’t your best strategy.”

“You’re not technically my boss until Thursday at eleven,” the bottle hovered over the triumphant smile on his face. “Because I clocked out an hour ago.”

He grimaced as he took a gulp. Arthur watched him as it went down. “Eugh, that was disgusting. Why did you let me do that? ” Merlin laughed, handing him the bottle.

Arthur mirrored his smile, and it was genuine. There was something incredibly endearing about the man sitting next to him. He took a swig then looked down at his work. The folding and tying had gotten progressively sloppier. 

“Bof...” Arthur was really starting to feel the effects of the drinks they had shared, “when did this happen?” He held up a particularly messed up roll. 

Merlin bursted out laughing. It was a deep, throaty kind of laugh, and Arthur found himself smiling as well. His laugh was nice, like music. Arthur wanted to hear it more often.

“Maybe we should get out of here.” Arthur said, tossing the well-wrapped cutlery in a bin and setting it aside. 

Merlin looked at him with a suggestive smile, “Is that an invitation?”

Arthur’s mind had become a little hazy around the edges, but he could’ve sworn Merlin was flirting with him. For what reason, he couldn’t muddle it out.

Then, as if he had not made himself clear enough, Merlin leaned forward, graced Arthur’s cheek with his fingertips and kissed his lips. It took him a second to realize what was happening, and then another to realize that he hadn't pulled away. It was strange to kiss a man. Merlin was nothing like the women he’d tasted. He was rough and honest with it. It was confusing to Arthur, but he did not break it.

Maybe it was his somewhat drunken state that made the kiss burn like it did, or maybe it was that he hadn’t been kissed like this in more than a year. Either way, when Merlin pulled away, it left Arthur with the searing ache to be kissed again. 

Merlin smiled at him. It was the grin that could light city blocks, it said equal parts  _ I can’t believe I just did that, _ and  _ let’s do it again. _

_ Oh, he is as charming as they said he was,  _ Arthur thought.

  
  
  
  


______________

  
  
  
  


His head was pounding. Arthur sighed as he sat up in his large bed and rubbed his eyes. Light was pouring in from the window. He got up to start the day. Usually after showering, his headaches would subside, but today the pain behind his eyes would not let up. He pulled some boxers on and went to the kitchen.

Arthur would not go running this morning, instead he would make himself his first cup of coffee in what would be weeks and mourn for sleep. As he poured coffee into his mug, he could’ve sworn he heard something, but it ceased as soon as it had started. 

When Arthur looked up again, he yelped, almost dropping his cup. He blinked a few times at the figure standing in the doorway of his bedroom, but determined that it was real, and after staring incomprehensibly, waiting for his eyes to focus, he determined that it was Merlin.

Arthur froze.

Merlin rubbed his eyes, and grunted “Where am I?”

He was completely naked. His body was adorned with pointed curves and sparse dark hair in all the usual places, as though he might have been a more adolescent version of a greek statue. He was somewhat pale, but he was not sickly looking. No, he had lean muscle that flexed and shifted with every movement and was frankly beautiful. It made Arthur blush. 

Arthur turned around to face the wall above the counter.  _ What happened last night? _ He thought. He couldn’t remember much…  _ Did I black out?  _

Merlin noticed his lack of clothing after following Arthur’s gaze and yanked on his briefs which must've been hastily discarded on the floor at some point during the night previous. He looked rather… disjointed. He looked as confused as Arthur felt.

“Did we…?” Arthur started. He tried to remember anything, but the last he could recall, the two of them were plugging a bottle of tequila in the managers’ office at the restaurant.

Merlin’s hair was even messier than it was before. He looked like he had just woken up from death and crawled out of the grave. Arthur just stared at him. He couldn’t remember the last time he blacked out like this. It must’ve been College. A crucial chunk of his life felt like it was missing from him. 

Merlin glanced around, peaking back into the room he woke up in then coming back with wide eyes. 

“I think we did.”

Arthur looked vacantly in horror and confusion, trying to understand how this could’ve happened. He wasn’t homophobic by any means. He had always been straight, and that was that. He never gave it a second thought.  He’d been with a few women in his time, and not once had anything else ever crossed his mind.

“We were both pretty drunk, and it was never my intention to go home with you… but you offered and it seemed like a good idea at the time… and the rest is a bit hazy.”

“ _ I _ offered?” Arthur asked incredulously.

“From what I can remember.”

The two stood in silence, trying to piece together anything they could in their heads.

  
  


“D’you mind if I take a shower?” Merlin whispered.

Arthur gave a passive motion towards the bathroom. Merlin left him quickly.

This had to have been the single worst experience Arthur had ever put himself through, and for what? Friendship? This wasn’t friendship, obviously, or he wouldn’t have brought him home to have sex with an undetermined number of times... Oh god, he hoped it was just once.

The whole thing is so screwed up. Arthur grabbed his phone, trying to concentrate hard in order to read the screen properly. He grunted in frustration, his fingers falling to do his will, but he ultimately knew that calling would mean certain hell from his father.

_ “Woke up sick, can’t come in today. Sorry.” _

_ Good enough _ , he thought.

  
  


Arthur made them some eggs and toast, hopefully to soak up any remaining alcohol in his stomach. He couldn’t believe this. It was so unlike him! He’d never regarded men in any sort of capacity, although the more that he thought about it, the more it started to make sense to him. In those frequent moments of weakness when he would get himself off watching porn in his bedroom, he almost always found himself watching the man more than the woman in the scene. He thought of it more as a learning experience than anything else and assumed nothing wrong about it. Now, he knew well that this must’ve been an excuse.

Before too long, Merlin meekly popped back around the corner, hair wet from the shower. He’d put on his clothes from last night, his work uniform, and was fiddling with the hem of his button down. 

Arthur found himself noting how the slim fit of the shirt really suited him, but as soon as that realization manifested, he cursed to himself. 

“I should probably go...”

Arthur turned away from him to finish breakfast. 

“I’ve just made breakfast and you’re in no condition to go anywhere,” He sighed before quietly adding, “and neither am I.”

They ate in silence for a while before Merlin couldn’t contain himself, he had to ask, “How much of last night do you remember?” 

Arthur set his fork down and thought for a moment.

“Not much… I suppose we left the restaurant but I don’t remember doing so… I have fragments of it…” Truth be told, the more Arthur thought, the more came back to him. He could remember moments of long fingers running down his spine, or the hint of alcohol on Merlin's tongue but the worst part was that he could remember how that made him feel. The image in his head and the memory of his tough on his back did little to calm his nerves, nor did it help with his apparent arousal which he kept hidden under the table.

“I’m… I’ve never…” Arthur tried

“Been with a man?” Merlin finished with only vague surprise, “yeah, me neither.” 

  
  
  
  


______________

  
  
  
  


It was safe to say that he still had a lot to figure out. Pieces of that night came back to him in his dreams and sometimes during the day. Seeing Merlin of all people naked and folding to the touch of Arthur’s hands was a strange thing. And what was stranger still was his own enthusiastic participation from what he could remember of those pieces. 

It was as though he had become a different person for a night. Not that he had any problem being gay- or at least not straight, it was just news to him. The idea took getting used to.

And he supposed Merlin was attractive, but why, of all the men he knew, did his subconscious pick  _ him _ ? Gwaine was far more attractive. And then Arthur realized he was thinking himself into a very weird spiral that only seemed to confirm his confusion. 

Sexuality crises aside, now Merlin had a real reason to be avoiding Arthur on top of the better known reason that everyone else was avoiding him. 

They’d left that morning on a very awkward note, and could find nothing since that was worth talking about. More than anything Arthur did  _ not _ want to talk about the night they’d had. He’d already had a scolding from his father and what might as well have been a doctor’s visit with his sister. He just wanted to get back to work and forget that any of it ever happened.

But he couldn’t forget it.

He couldn’t shake the memories which, for some godforsaken reason, had a more _ …  _ physical effect on him. It had been half a week since that night and his body was acting as though he were fifteen again. Just  _ seeing _ Merlin made his pants stiffen.

And it didn’t help that these memories were slowly leaking back to him with the hot intensity as though it had been only an hour ago. It was ridiculous. It reminded him just how long it’d been since the last time he’d had sex.

  
  
  


It was a Friday night, and it was going to be busy. They needed all hands on deck and Arthur was far from focussed on his work. The clock struck seven as people started pouring into the dining room. Orders began flying to the kitchen. When staff wasn’t calling out for ingredients or garnish, they were buzzing around in concentration.

Arthur couldn’t get himself to concentrate without his mind wondering after a few moments. It was a maladie he might have suffered in his adolescence but had since returned. The heat of the kitchen and the pressure was slowly building up unlike it ever had before and he was growing more anxious with every movement. 

People were moving around him and shouting at each other until at some point they started shouting at him. He tried to turn his brain off and began to put himself into his work. Soon enough, his dishes were prepped and set on the rack, ready to be enjoyed. The servers came and left in a line. He didn’t have time to watch them go, but it seemed like a lot went out at once making it a tricky load and leaving the out-going rack completely devoid of food. 

As on most busy nights, the kitchen was a bit chaotic, but there was a sort of order to it. It was only when someone disrupted that delicate order did the whole operation come to a screeching halt. 

The wrench thrown in the system tonight was a clamber of full dishes falling to the ground. Arthur looked up to see Merlin stopped wide eyed and staring at the mess he’d made. He’d tried to carry six plates out when only five fit on a serving tray and the whole thing toppled over.

“Merlin!” Arthur roared.

“I’m sorry,” Merlin muttered, trying to scrape the food and shards of glassware into a dustpan as quickly as possible. He looked down to see his hands shaking. There were beads of blood from the glass that had wedged itself in his hands. 

Arthur’s heart was beating. He didn’t have time to take care of this and to make all this food. It was a rare moment when he wished his father were here to take care of it, although if that were the case he might never see Merlin again. Morgana was likely very busy doing her job as well so all action fell, as usual, onto Arthur.

“Get in the office.  _ Now _ .” Arthur growled, gritting his teeth. Merlin hardly registered what he’d said he was so shook up. Arthur fumed through the kitchen and came around to where Merlin was hunched over the floor. He swept up the remains as best he could and threw them out before he shoved the other to his feet and pushed him to the little room off of the kitchen. 

“Gwaine, cover for me!” 

_ Only a clumsy, immature child could make this kind of a mess.  _

Arthur slammed the door behind him. He was seething. Pendragon hadn’t seen an accident like this in a very long time. People had gotten fired for less. 

“Arthur, I-I’m” 

“Save it.” Arthur pulled down a medical kit on a shelf above the computer, he flung the lid open and rattled around for tweezers and disinfectant. He grasped Merlin by the shoulders and guided him to sit on the desk so that he would not have to hunch over in order to peer at his skin.

“Give me your hands,” he sighed impatiently. He said this in a way that could not be construed as tender. Arthur wanted to communicate that there would be  _ absolutely _ no special treatment nor love lost that would be reflected in the consequences given for his mistakes. 

His hands didn’t look all that cut up, but it was hard to tell due to their violent trembling. These were the hands that graced his skin. He could remember the feeling vividly.

“Calm down!”

“I’m  _ trying _ !”

Arthur was disgusted.  _ Is this how Merlin reacts to being put under pressure? _ Reducing himself to a rattling shell of a person? If Arthur cracked this easily under pressure, his father would have had it smacked out of him.

One thing was certain, Merlin could not return to work before he got himself cleaned up, and that could not happen until he calmed himself. In a fit of rage or maybe frustration and without really knowing why, Arthur leaned forward, grabbed Merlin around the back of the neck and pulled him into a hungry kiss. 

He’d later convince himself that it was for  _ Merlin, _ that it was to help him get calm, but there was no excuse for when he started to unbutton Merlin’s shirt and then his own. Merlin was surprised at the ferocious passion but welcomed it wantonly.

There was no way he could chalk this all up to just a fit of lust. Arthur felt as though he were living the fantasy that he’d dreamt up a few days ago. He was just as Arthur had remembered him; lean muscle, pale skin, and limbs that seemed to touch him all at once but not overwhelmingly. 

Arthur began to kiss him in other places and Merlin wrapped his arms around his shoulders, doing his best not to push the ignored glass further into his skin.

The blond nipped and kissed a line of bruises down his sternum and belly until he got to the hem of his dark jeans. Merlin’s breath was already labored, and from his nearness to his jeans, Arthur that he was enjoying himself.

Neither had the mental capacity to speak, so Arthur looked up at him from his vantage point as if to say, “ _ Can I? _ ” 

To which Merlin responded with an enthusiastic nod. 

He wasted no time undoing the button and wrapping his lips around Merlin’s cock. It was a strange feeling to him, being completely lucid and craving the taste of another man on his tongue. This was something that he’d never done, it was loud and sloppy, and he wondered if people outside could hear them. Then he snuck a glance to Merlin’s face and realized he didn’t care.

He wanted to hike his legs over Arthur’s shoulders for a better position, but his pants were constricting that motion. Sitting on the Managers’ desk wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it hardly mattered when Arthur felt like  _ that _ . 

Arthur didn’t want to give any more meaning to their connection other than that he was here for a good fuck, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of Merlin. He wanted to watch him as he came, because bringing someone such extreme physical ecstasy, however brief it may be, was a high compliment in his mind.

Merlin was one of those rather unremarkable looking people until you got to talking to him and then he’d be all smiles and jokes. It was then that he grew on you. And if a decent conversation would make Merlin’s face light up, imagine what getting his cock sucked could do to him.

And Merlin was beautiful like this. He wished he could remember exactly how he’d looked the last time they’d done this, but if it was anything the same then he could not blame himself for feeling this way. Merlin’s eyes were shut in an effort to hold out just a little longer, then in one rebellious moment Merlin looked down to Arthur and he could hold on no longer. 

Maybe it was the deviance of where and what they were doing but the thrill of Arthur’s eyes meeting him from that position, pushed him over the edge. He spilled into Arthur’s mouth, trying, but ultimately unable to repress a moan. 

Arthur’s pants had grown painfully tight, which grew even more painful when Merlin pulled him up but the collar into a messy kiss. Merlin could undoubtedly taste himself on his lips as he’d hardly had time to wipe his mouth. 

The chef came back to his senses though and he pulled himself off, buttoned Merlin back up, and upturned his palm. He said nothing as he picked at his hands with tweezers. Merlin was no longer shaky. 

“Are we going to talk about this?”

Arthur didn’t speak. Pretending that this whole thing was his plan all along to get Merlin to calm himself seemed like the easiest route. But his erection was a painful reminder of just how inappropriate that was. Not only had he taken advantage of his power, but sex in his father’s five star restaurant? This was wrong. 

“You’re fine. You should go home,” Arthur said harshly as he finished bandaging his hands. 

“No, I can finish my shift, thanks. Arthur, we should talk about this.” 

“There’s nothing to say, Merlin.” 

Merlin glared at him, “Okay, I’ll start then. Clearly neither of us have much experience doing… what we do. But I know that we’re good at it, and you seem to know that too.”

Arthur didn’t look at him as he put the kit away.

Merlin continued, “Why do you have such a problem with it then? We’re clearly not straight, so why do you have a crisis everytime we do anything?’

“I don’t have a problem with the fact that I’m attracted to a man, I have a problem with the fact that we just had sex in my father’s office! It was unbelievably inappropriate- Why am I even telling you this? You have no authority to question me.”

“You started it!”

“Yeah and I’d fucking do it again which is why you need to leave!” Arthur’s face went red at what he just said. It was true though. Lately, his thoughts had been scattered and it all started when Merlin came into his life. “Look, I need to go out there and do my job. Stay if you want, but I’m not talking to you about this right now.”

And with that, Arthur left meeting Merlin’s eyes to show his seriousness. 

When the blond entered the kitchen, his coworkers were working quietly. It was the tail end of the dinner rush, and it was as though Arthur had never left. He fell into line swiftly and gracefully. His thoughts were all there despite his arousal. He didn’t even notice Merlin leave the office through the kitchen. 

  
  
  


______________

  
  
  


There was a ring at his buzzer, which was strange. Merlin’s doorbell rang so seldomly, that at first he didn’t know what it was. He was in the middle of a book and he thought he’d imagined it. He crossed his apartment and went to the intercom. He pressed his finger to the button with a “hello?”

“Hey… it’s Arthur… Pendragon.” his voice was fuzzy and distorted.

Merlin stepped back, trying to find anything to say. This was the last person he’d expected, seeing as though they hadn’t spoken in three days.

“I’ll buzz you in.” 

Truth be told, he wasn’t exactly looking forward to this. It caught him off-guard. He had about six minutes. 

_ Oh god, my apartment’s a mess _ .

He ran around his shoebox of a home, throwing dirty clothes into the closet and closing the door, stacking books on his coffee table to gain some semblance of order. 

There was a knock at the door. Merlin exhaled the breath he’d been holding for six minutes. He smoothed his shirt down then opened the door. 

“Hey…” Was all the blond could manage. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, which frankly suited his body tremendously well. Merlin realized that he’d never seen Arthur in anything other than his work uniform. 

“You know you don’t have to say your last name. As forgettable as you are, I can recall your name,” Merlin laughed, holding the door for him.

Arthur stepped past him, looking around. It was a dinky little one bedroom apartment that was so undeniably Merlin. There were books everywhere and posters or pictures littering the walls. It was organized chaos that Arthur would never allow at his place. 

“Yeah, sorry the place is not so clean. I would’ve tidied up if I knew you were coming.” 

“It’s no problem, I could have told you I was coming, although frankly I didn’t know I was coming until I’d arrived.”

There was a brief awkward silence before, “yeah, how did you know where I live?”

“Uh, I may have looked at your employee record last week.” 

Merlin couldn’t fight the grin spreading across his face. This meant that Arthur had peaked at the record days ago and  _ memorized _ it. He was bound to pop up at some point. 

“I um… I wanted to say that I’m sorry. You were right. The truth is that it bothers me so much because I’m having a hard time meeting everyone's expectations, when I can’t even meet my own… It really has nothing to do with you and I’m sorry that I dragged you into it.” 

Merlin was quiet. He wanted him to finish his thoughts before giving his own piece. Merlin had Arthur’s words tumbling around his head for the last few days, when he said that he was attracted to him, and that he’d gladly have another blowjob-in-the-office incident again. 

“I have a lot of people depending on me and there’s not enough room in my brain to process all this stuff with them and all this stuff with you. I’m also not very good at talking to people… as you may know… so that’s why I lashed out a bit and I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay, Arthur. I’m not angry.”

“You’re not?” 

Merlin shook his head with a small smile. “It’s okay. I know you have a lot on your plate right now and that’s why I don’t force it.” 

Arthur was confused, “Force it?” 

“Yeah, I mean you’re a dick, and usually dicks don’t do it for me. But I’m apparently _ridiculously_ attracted to you. And you’ve been running around my thoughts since I met you,” He said with a frank expression, never leaving Arthur’s eyes for a second.

Arthur stood dumbfounded.

“Yeah, I don’t understand it either. But I know one thing for certain,” he smiled to Arthur, “I’d have you in that kitchen any day of the week.” 

Arthur’s face flushed hearing this.

“And from what I remember you saying to me last, you feel that too. I think the way you so adequately phrased it ‘get out of my kitchen or I’ll fuck you again’.” 

Arthur laughed, “You’re not going to ever let me live that down, are you?”

“Oh, absolutely not,” he smiled.

“That’s fair, I think.” Arthur brushed his thumb over Merlin’s cheek, realizing how badly he wanted to kiss it. This was not normal. This is not what he’d felt for anyone ever before, and it took an insult and a drunken night to realize that. 

For some reason, he was attached to this strange man. They were dissimilar in nearly every way and yet he just couldn’t get rid of him- not that he wanted to. There was something about him…

“So, when you say you’d have me in the kitchen… is that limited to my father’s restaurant, or can we maybe try for a place that won’t get us arrested? Like, for example, your bedroom which I have yet to see.” 

Merlin beamed at him, “I think we can come to some sort of agreement.” 

Arthur smiled, amused then pushed forward the length it took to kiss him, but Merlin pulled himself off almost immediately. 

“Wait, let me give you the tour before we get too far! My room is pretty nice, I think you’ll especially enjoy the ceiling.” 

The tour itself was pretty short considering there were only three rooms and a bathroom, but Merlin made it especially interesting when he took off an article of clothing in each one, making Arthur laugh.

They hardly made it to the bedroom before they were on each other. Merlin was already naked, Arthur was just trying to catch up. 

He landed with a grunt when his back hit the bed. Merlin kissed his neck.

“Wait!” Arthur exclaimed.

“What?”

“Your ceiling really  _ is _ lovely.” 

Merlin sighed a laugh, “you’re ridiculous.” He returned his attention back to Arthur.

Merlin was not sure what propelled his initial attraction to Arthur, afterall he was hard and masculine and entirely different than everyone else he’d even come this far with. He didn’t get his first girlfriend til the end of high school and even then, he didn’t have sex for the first time until a year or two later. (Not because he couldn’t get it, but because he felt he wasn’t ready.)

For him, the interest of girls was easy to come by but difficult to keep. He knew that people liked him on a surface level, but once they got deeper, they usually left. He found it difficult to confide in those near him, because they weren’t looking for a friend so much as a wingman or a fuckbudy or what have you. This left him especially unsure of himself, because it was only a matter of time, right?

Arthur was different though. They hated each other at first. Although maybe it was due to the sheer opposite-ness of the situation he normally found himself in that made all the pieces finally fall into place. That one drunken night… he couldn’t deny that he’d felt something then.    
  


Merlin wanted to feel him again. He wanted that sensation that only Arthur could give him. 

“Touch me,” he whispered, gently nipping at Arthur’s ear. 

The blond felt all the blood leave his face. Merlin felt him grow harder underneath him and smiled at the thought. Arthur’s hands wrapped around his shoulder blades, as Merlin grinded down. Arthur stifled a moan. His brain was going fuzzy, he wanted to turn it off and let whatever be done to him.

Merlin reached over and grabbed a bottle of lube and a condom out of his night stand.

“Don’t move,” he said with a grin.

He tore off the condom wrapping and tossed it aside before running the plastic sheath over Arthur’s cock. Merlin gave it a once-over with lubricant for good measure which elicited a groan. Then he leaned over Arthur, their faces just an inch or two apart, as he positioned himself to get teased. Arthur let his fingers drag down Merlin’s spine making his skin crawl. He rolled his hips to get some movement going.

The friction was sweet on them, they began to pant together, getting a proper feel of things while in their right minds (this time).This was a little slower than what Merlin was used to, but he was trying to go slow for Arthur if he needed it. 

Which evidently he did not because Arthur grabbed Merlin’s thighs and hoisted him up so that they were both sitting upright with Merlin pulled into his lap breathlessly. 

“Okay?” Arthur asked with a face that was so him, like a concerned protector. What he really meant to say was ‘are you ready?’ But he didn’t need so many words to get his question across and if that wasn’t a perfect metaphor for how Arthur went about this relationship, then I don’t know what is.

Merlin nodded. He’d been waiting for this since it’d happened the first time. But in some ways this was the first time. The first time he was really present. The first time he would remember it like a string of events and not bits and pieces.

Arthur positioned himself under Merlin, gripping his thighs and bearing some of his weight so that he could go as slow as he pleased. Arthur watched his face for any sign of pain as Merlin sank down around him. He winced once but then it was done. They rocked slowly at first, to get used to the feeling. 

Merlin’s hands grabbed at blond hair. Arthur’s gaze never left his. His cheeks were ruddy with arousal and his eyes were lidded as he relished the feeling, the sight of Merlin who breathed hushedly with every movement.

It was deeply erotic as they looked onto eachother’s faces knowing full well what they were doing and the more they looked, the more wild they grew. Merlin bent down to kiss him sloppily, but that didn’t last. He began bucking his hips, bouncing up and down on Arthur’s cock like he needed it.

Their breathing grew heavy until it turned into moans. Arthur could hardly focus on anything except coordinating his muscles to both carry Merlin’s weight and to hold back from cumming too quickly, but he planted hungry kisses on Merlin’s neck and chest where he could immediately reach. 

When Arthur looked back up at him, his hair mussed and lips parted, with only his name on his tongue, Merlin couldn’t hold it back anymore. He groaned, holding himself with Arthur deep inside him, hitting that spot and making him feel like he could only dream of feeling. 

Euphoric heat tore through his body as he threw his head back with one final whine. Arthur felt his own tension spilling over at the sight of Merlin enjoying himself like this. It was filthy and extraordinary.

The two fell back onto the bed as their breathing started to slow. Arthur hadn’t realized how much that position made his back hurt but it didn’t matter. 

Merlin laughed, slapping his hand to his forehead. Even after the hazy memories, he had no idea it could be like  _ this! _ It made him rethink every relationship he’d ever been in. Had he always craved this? 

“Holy shit, Arthur.” he said, amazed.

“I know.” Arthur glanced over to him with a stupid grin. It was clear he felt the same way. 

“I was wrong… you owe  _ me _ a drink.”

Arthur laughed and kissed him.

  
  



End file.
